St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1887-02-05
HOW ScULPToRS WORK.
Descriptions Of the B<st-Known and Most
Popular System Of statue Making.

VO" S~OeV uOuS WOHA1
Description OF the B<st-Knovn and Most
Popular system Of statue Making.
Several great sculptors, Michael An
gelo among them, have occasionally
hewn their statues straight out of the
block Of marble. without going through
the preliminary courses Of modelling in
clay and casting in plaster. But this is
rarely done. for. in the first place. the
work would be too long for any artist
who has a regard for his time. and in
tn. second. the hewing of the marble
demands special practical experience
which makes it AN art apart. A sculp-
tor would probably spoil hundred
blocks of marble before making As
much as s.atuette foot high. were
he to trust only to himself in the mat.
ter. Even Michael Angelo. when he
tr:ci to dispense with the ''statuary.
or ..practitioncr." succeeded only n
making fragments of figures. Not be-
ing an adept in judging of the size Of
the A5iock he needed. he was con-
stantly finding that he had miscal-
culatel. and that an arm. leg. or
a head must remain unfinished in
consequence. The ''statuary." who is
often AN artist of great merit. and pos
sessed of as much tAlent in his way rs
the sculptor in his. sets the plaster
model on \ platform. measures it. AMI
places it si,le BY side with block OF
marble of the requisite height and
breadth. This done. he applies to tho
model an instrument of mathematical
precision, by which he obtains the de-
tailed measure of every part and angle
of the statue. He then returns to the
marble. and roughly sketches on the
outside of it. by means of points, sort
Of outline of tho figure or group. Upon
each of the spots where he has marked
. point with his pencil. u workman
borcs hole with an awl. taking great
care, however. not to bore q fraction
of an inch deeper than he is told.
When the '.statuary" has inspected all
the sides of the block, and when tho
holes have all been bored according tn
his directions the marble looks as
Though it had been riddled by bullets.
A second workman then appears with
fragments of marble between the diff
fcrent holes and along the pencil lines
drawn rs guide marks. This work is
more or less easy as the attitude of the
statue is simple and fanciful. II the
figure be one Of modern parsonage
plac:dly with his arms BY his
sides, attired in the clothes of our day
and with nothing eccentric in the po-
sition of his legs, the task offers no diff
Iicuitics snd may b. entrusted to very
ordinary workman. But if the subject
De . group or figure in an attitude.
for instance like that of Ajax Defyiny
The Lightning. the chisel can not be en-
trusted to any but y practice I hand.
and every blow of the hammer must be
struck with the greatest precaution. 1
The appearance presented by the mar
bic when the preparatory hewing
has ended. is that of som,
person or persons thickly wrapped
up in s!iroud. The outlines Of
head aad body can be vaguely de-
tcct.d under the whitc covering. bit
nothing more. And it is not until tho
'.statuary' hims III has set to work
with his finer chiscl and more delic ate
hand. that \ tangible form bcyins to
emerge from the hard mass. First the
head, then the shoulders and trunk.
then the legs, and then the arms ami
hanls appear. The arms and hands. /;
L Outstretched. are reserved to the |
ast; if detached first from the block. |
the Osc llations caused by the chisel in |
hewing the other parts of the marble
L., L, L. rf,.S
! very necessary precaution, and 1t is
sven usual 10 keep the arms. the fingers |;
md other protesting parts Ut marble
statues continually supported by props
Df wood. until the moment when the
work is set upon its pedestal and un.
covered.
When the statue is handed over to
he sculptor so that he ::lay give tho
inal touches to it, there sometimes re-
mains scarcely any thing for him to do. !
This is the case when the ''statuary' IS !
himself q frst-class artist and can trust
himself to imitat. to = nicely tho
slightest details of form and expression
n the plaster model. But such exafli- !.
lies are rare. less because of the inca
,acity of the '.statuaries" than by 1
ctsOu ia TIC udtuI ~ uCSbIC WhtCu
very art st has to terminate in person !
he work he has conceived and begun.
rhe statue is usually returned to tho
culptor in a half fin shed state. the fine
ouchcs. which will constitute the
pecial beauty of the work. yet remain
ng to be done. The most delicate Of
ools are then employed; slender chisels
nth the finest points: toy hammers of
carccly any weight. little graters that
i on. something like thimbles, to tho
up of the forcfinger. And to polish
he marble and smooth it, cham ,is
sather. sand-paper. spongcs steepea in
ii and the palm Of the hand are used.
When the work presents nude figure.
he amount Of care needed for the corr
ect modelling of the limbs and muscles
} incOnceivable. Works like the Lao
oon. the Dying Gladiator and tho
Apollo Belvedere must have cost the
makers more trouble and anxiety than
ny sum Of money could repay. y.
fail and Express.